Q. David Bowers
"When informed of his father's death, Farouk was at school in England. He was on horseback and was being taught to jump. Unmoved at the news, Farouk reined his horse away and remarked, I'll just do three more rounds of jumps, then I shall return with you.' He did not appear to be in any taste to return to Egypt.
"The reception Farouk received from his subjects was unlike any ever seen in Alexandria. Through the night thousands came-on foot, on donkeys on camels, or in ramshackle buses. Yakia Farouk' (long live Farouk) the shouting multitude repeated. Beggars cheered, the fellahin save up a day's work in the fields.
"Was not the tyrant Fuad dead? Would not this new king feed the hungry and supply the beggars?
As the royal train passed through the villages enroute to Cairo, hoes and plows were laid down and waterwheels were silent. Workers stopped digging irrigation ditches with their bare hands to climb on roofs of their mud huts, to line the railway track to catch a glimpse of their king. Soon he was to broadcast a message to his people. He promised to devote his life to their good, to bend all his efforts to create their happiness.
"At 16, he was a handsome hope of a proud and ancient people. Ten years later he was obese, obsessed with sex, and reckless at the gambling tables. He had a mania for others' possessions. Disaster for his people was inevitable and could have been foretold by the many bad jokes told at his expense.
"Whatever his endeavor, inadequacy proved his undoing. The more inept at governing" the more autocratic he became. The more impotent as a lover, the more hectic his pursuit of women. Even in his collecting habits, he did not excel. He acquired more junk than one would expect considering the vast funds available to him. Of course, he also acquired many excellent and rare items, for numismatics was only one of his hobbies. Stamps, jewels, paintings, silver, objects of art, musical instruments, watches, pornography-these were acquired, accumulated, collected.
"Unfortunately, many of the worthwhile coins which were purchased for the Royal Collection were badly handled. Improper cleaning and the extensive use of lacquer only depreciated many values and detracted from the beauty of the coins. Normally, listing a coin as being from a famous collection enhances its value. Listing a coin as having been from King Farouk, on the other hand, gives a warning that the coin should be examined
very carefully!
"Not only were abrasive cleaners used, but in-efficient attempts were made to remove lacquer, which resulted in ugly coins. Despite the fact that such pieces came from the Farouk Collection, the appearance of such pieces made them unappealing. This was not true of the majority of the Farouk coins, but enough were so involved as to warrant caution.
"Despite these faults, the Farouk Collection represented one of the finest ever assembled. Primary interest centered in the coins and patterns of the 19th and 20th centuries. Earlier-dated coins were incidentally acquired and included many great rarities.
"There were about 8,500 coins and medals in gold and 164 in platinum. In addition, of course, there were countless others in silver and copper.
"King Farouk had been a client to whom we shipped many rarities. His want list was in our hands, and we were authorized to acquire needed' coins for him. His interest in United States coins and patterns was keen, and since this was one of my specialties, we were able to concentrate on appropriate acquisitions. The result was one of the finest collections of its kind ever assembled.
"When the Egyptian army revolted and Farouk was sent in exile, naturally this very valuable association ended. We reasoned that something had to be done with this collection. Would it be housed in a museum? Would additions be required? Would it be sold? I intended to find out.
"On February 4, 1953, I wrote to the custodian of the properties of the ex-king of Koubbeh Palace in Cairo, Egypt. I had informed him of the previous relationship and advised him of the completeness of the records in our hands. I inquired if, among his duties, he would be charged with that of completing the collection.
"The reply triggered an experience which, while I lived through it, I still find hard to believe.
"When I wrote to Cairo, I was hoping I might be commissioned to complete the Royal Collection. If not, perhaps I could get involved in its liquidation."
The reply was forthcoming in due course, and Abe Kosoff was advised that the Farouk coins were being catalogued for sale at auction. Few other details were given, and speculation was rampant throughout the American coin dealer community.
"On March 6, 1953, I sent a cable, followed by a letter, in which I advised him that I had been awarded the privilege of conducting the auction sale in conjunction with a convention of the American Numismatic Association to be held in Dallas, Texas, in August of that year. I suggested that such an auction would be a wonderful vehicle for the sale of the Royal Collection. As things turned out, it certainly would have brought better results than did the Cairo auction.
"We concluded that we would also be interested in buying all or part of the collection outright. This offer to buy outright was repeated on April 6th, at which time I indicated that I was prepared to fly to Cairo with suitable letters of credit. No reply, so we repeated the message on April 23rd. Finally, a reply dated May 24, 1953, came from the Lt. Col. Director of Technical Bureau, GHQ Egyptian Armed Forces, informing us that 'the Egyptian government will sell them in a public auction next winter in Cairo. If you are interested in this matter, you will have to be present in due time.'
'That sounded better. Finally the details came to light. Sotheby's of London was the auction house in charge, and Baldwin of London was to do the cataloguing. Considering the tension between England and Egypt then existing, this was a most surprising arrangement.
"The importance of the United States section of the collection and the heavy emphasis on United States patterns created doubts in my mind that any foreign cataloguer would do justice to the task. We offered to assist, but this offer was turned down. At the same time we were informed that the entire collection was being catalogued and that the sale was planned for Cairo in February or March 1954.
"Catalogues would be available in November, and a copy was being reserved for air mail delivery to us. Before then I managed to get photostats of part of the typed copy of the catalogue, and this stimulated even further my thoughts in the direction of Cairo. Not only did I determine that attendance at the sale was mandatory, but prior examination of the lots was a must. Even then I could not help but think how much better the United States section of the collection would have fared if it had been catalogued and sold in America.